Red 87 XR going under the knife!

Post by **turboxr4** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:35 pm

I have been around for sometime behind the scenes; I have read many of the posts here on MCA, merkursport, and Turboford, however I rarely reply to any. I am one of the Greek brothers (Gus) from NY (long island area) with the white 88 xr4ti which I have modified greatly since I purchased it in '94 as my first car (picture below).

Anyway a couple years ago a friend of mine gave me a red 87 xr4ti for free; all it needed was a battery and brakes. So I fixed it up and drove it around on the weekends, since my white xr was a little too performance oriented for daily driving. Then one day a couple of months ago my wife (Rose) asked if we are ever going to paint it. The paint was faded and the drivers side rear quarter was primered due to a fender bender by the previous owner. That was like asking a child if they wanted candy. Basically it spiraled out of control and now the whole car is stripped with the wiring harness pulled inside to allow for the engine bay, door jambs etc. to be painted. We decided to change the color from the original Red. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know exactly what color but it will be in the red family. I am also going to upgrade the look, performance and drivability...so much for just a paint job.

Below are a couple of pictures of the current state of the car while it waits to go to the body shop. I also threw in some before shots.

Right now the engine is in stock form with some minor bolt on parts like the sierra cosworth 4x4 intercooler with shortened aluminum radiator, 120 degree turned intake, 3Ã¢â‚¬Â

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:20 pm

Gus! Nice first post after lurking for three years!

Don't you just love stripping these cars down to nothing? Wait until you go to put it all back together and you're saying, WTF is this and where does it go?

Look forward to seeing updates of the paint work.

Post by **John Brennan** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:56 pm

Yiassou, vre! Oli tha pai kala!

pacwest · Post by **pacwest** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:03 pm

DPDISXR4Ti wrote: Don't you just love stripping these cars down to nothing? Wait until you go to put it all back together and you're saying, WTF is this and where does it go?

I've been in project hell for 4 months! Don't let ANY time elapse between the tear down and reassembly process. You forget WTH you were gonna do!

A good choice would be a colour that hides the red. Personally I don't think there are enough black Xrs around. If I ever reshell my car I'd find a mint black one. Or a dark metallic blue respray.

Post by **turboxr4** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:22 pm

ella vre, pos xereis ellinika?
i have parts everywhere, the whole interior is in my basement, the garage is filled with the original parts. thank god i labled most of the parts, bolts, brackets, etc. it took about a week or so to tear it apart but i think it it will take much longer to put it together, especially after it is painted and i dont want to scratch it!! anyway i love a challenge

Post by **John Brennan** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:24 pm

Enai Ellinitsa, y mitera mou-- Papou kai Yiayia etanai apo tyn Asea, to xopio soun mes to Peloponneses (epethanen, to thio...

). Toda, me excexase poli, yati...me pios tha milao? Milao Spanika! Ala, enai etho mesa sto kephali mou.

Boy, it's tough to write Greek in English-- you're not sure which letter to use-- hopefully, my phoneticization is good enough!

CV12Steve · Post by **CV12Steve** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:32 pm

Type it in Word and paste it over and you can use the Greek alphabet.

Post by **turboxr4** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:23 pm

Here is a little update. i decided about a week ago to re-upholster the front and rear door panels since they were coming apart. They were redone in pewter ultra leather with black ultra leather inserts. in the front inserts i had the XR4TI logo embroidered in and added a 5-1/4" MTX speaker in the rear inserts. I also had the headliner redone. Here are some pictures.

The company that did all this work is located in Hicksville, NY and while speaking to one of the main guys there he told me that they have the pattern for the carpet including the cargo areas which would be contour-sewn, he said you should not be able to see the seams. I asked the price for it and he said for "nylon cut pile" with the padding it would be approx. $660 and for the "nylon dense pile" it would be around $990. If anyone is interested reply or send me a pm and i can give you their info.

As for the exterior, the car is going to the body shop on Monday, i will take pictures and update as it progresses.

Post by **John Brennan** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 2:47 pm

Very nice!

Curious about the white car: do you plan on getting a Cossie grille? You have the rest of it in place, so, just wondering.

I'd love to see some more engine shots-- looks like a nice, clean bay there.

Post by **turboxr4** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:49 pm

I have the cossie grill for the white car but I am going to use it for the red car for now. later on i may change my mind and put one on the white one but i kind of like the look with the factory one

here are a couple more pics of the engine bay from the white one.

Post by **John Brennan** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 10:16 pm

Yep-- every bit as nice as I thought it would be...

I'm wondering what you're using for engine management. It's very cool to see so much less in an XR bay!

Here's another query: do you suppose it's possible that the very sharp bend right off the turbo outlet is a restriction? I really don't know, but it seems that a nice U-bend there would be a good thing.

Post by **turboxr4** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:45 am

i am using the Electromotive TEC3 for engine management, so much less wiring when you have a full stand alone system.
the 90 at the turbo probably is a restriction but to get a u-bend with a small radius to reach the intercooler is difficult, i think i have to change the turbo exhaust housing from a center to a tangential which will bring the turbo up and then i can rotate the compressor housing facing it towards the fender then maybe a u-bend will help.
i still have a bunch of things i want to finalize on the white car but the red one has most of my attention these days

Ekon · Post by **Ekon** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 3:29 am

I have a question, what is that uhm, body kit? grill u have on it? i really want to get that but i dont know what its called or where to get it. Very nice by the way.

Mike McCreight · Post by **Mike McCreight** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:11 am

Hey, did you ever have this car in Ottawa? I saw a mono white XR up on a rack at a local garage YEARS ago, and waited around to meet the owner. He gave me an Email address, Greekbrothers@???.
Coincidence? Or just a really small world???

Post by **turboxr4** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 7:28 pm

the white car has an rs500 body kit in fiberglass, the grill is the factory one.
i have not been to ottawa ever, so i guess it is a big coincidence